On the Relationship Between The Ordinances and Church Membership
WHAT ARE THE ORDINANCES - BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER?
Scripture affirms two ordinances given to the Church by Jesus Himself: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ. It is a sign of fellowship and union with Christ in his death and resurrection, of the forgiveness of sins, and submission to the Lordship of Christ as the believer walks in newness of life. Those who personally profess repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ should be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Baptism is a means of “going public” with one’s faith, entering into the New Covenant Community. By way of analogy, baptism is like a wedding ceremony, the public display and lifelong covenant commitment to one’s spouse for the rest of one’s life.
The Lord’s Supper is also an ordinance of the New Testament, established by Jesus Christ on the night of his betrayal and crucifixion. It was given as a means of confirmation of the faith of the believer, a reminder of our union with Christ, and for spiritual growth and nourishment. It is a memorial of the one offering that Christ made of himself on the cross, yet is also a spiritual offering of thanks and praise to God for Christ’s sacrifice. In the Lord’s supper, we eat and drink bread and wine/juice in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus, and in doing so we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again.
The Lord’s Supper is a means by which we regularly reaffirm our faith and communion with Christ. By way of analogy, if baptism is like a wedding ceremony, the Lord’s Supper is like an anniversary celebration.
WHAT IS MEMBERSHIP IN A LOCAL CHURCH?
Church membership represents a church's public affirmation of an individual's credible profession of faith and baptism, a church's promise to provide oversight for the individual's discipleship, and the individual's formal submission of their discipleship to that specific body and its leaders.
By way of analogy, local churches are like embassies of Christ’s Kingdom here on earth. Membership, then, is like a declaration of citizenship in Christ's kingdom. Membership is a way of affirming who belongs to Christ and who is authorized to represent Christ to a watching world.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM?
The Keys of the Kingdom refer to the authorization given by Christ to His Church to define who belongs and who does not. The “keys” represent the authority to affirm or deny someone’s profession of faith and way of life as a true representation of Christ’s kingdom.
In Matthew 16:19, we see a connection between the establishment of the Church, the “keys of the kingdom,” and the authority of “binding and loosing” in heaven and on earth. Later in Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus again refers to the power of “binding and loosing,” giving authority to the Church to wield these “keys of the kingdom” to define who belongs. The power of “binding and loosing” is exercised when a church either affirms a believer’s profession of faith or withholds this affirmation and removes the unrepentant from fellowship with the saints.
WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ORDINANCES, CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, AND THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM?
As an embassy of Christ’s heavenly kingdom, a local church must do her part to affirm the citizenship of every believer in her midst. The church does not make citizens of the Kingdom. One’s faith in and union with Christ through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit does. Nevertheless, local churches are given the authorization to define who represents Christ on the church’s behalf to the world. In other words, local churches are to wield the keys of the kingdom, binding and loosing, which is fundamentally what church membership is all about.
How a church wields the keys of the kingdom is through the ordinances. When the church baptizes, it is binding someone on earth as a citizen of Christ’s kingdom. When a church administers the Lord’s Supper to a professing believer, it is a reaffirmation of their heavenly citizenship. When the church removes someone in excommunication, it is loosing their authorization to represent Christ to the world as a citizen of His Kingdom.
Thus there is a deep connection between the ordinances and the practice of church membership. Membership and the ordinances go hand in hand. Through the administration and exercise of the ordinances a church community mutually affirms who belongs and it is only those who are united to Christ and members of His church who are eligible to rightly partake in the ordinances.
WHAT ARE SOME PASTORAL AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THIS RELATIONSHIP FOR CHURCH LIFE?
When should someone be baptized? When there is genuine regeneration, repentance of sin, faith in Jesus, and the subsequent and necessary fruit of repentance in the life of the believer. As is patterned in the New Testament, baptism should follow shortly after regeneration and conversion.
When should someone participate at the Lord’s Table? After they have been baptized and admitted into membership of the local church.
When should someone join the church? After they have been baptized.
What is the temporal and logical ordering of baptism, the Lord’s Table, and membership?
Temporally baptism should precede the Lord’s Table. Baptism is the initial entrance into the New Covenant community. The Lord’s Table is a reaffirmation of that belonging.
Temporally baptism should precede church membership. This is because we believe in a regenerated church membership and baptism an outward sign of regeneration.
Logically baptism should precede the Lord’s Table.
Logically membership in the church precedes baptism. We believe that all those who are regenerate are, at the moment of saving faith, immediately united to Christ and become a part of Christ’s invisible Church. We also believe that all members of Christ’s invisible Church are, logically, members of local visible churches, whether formally recognized as members or not. Thus, since baptism is a sign of the inward reality of union with Christ, and that union causes a regenerate believer to be a member of the church, logically church membership precedes any act of baptism.
Logically, in another sense, baptism and entrance into church membership occur simultaneously. Matthew 28:19 commands that all believers are to be baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This pronouncement is made by the church upon a recognition of saving faith, which is an act of binding on earth what is bound in heaven. Thus, in a sense, regenerate believers are baptized directly into church membership.
Still, since we live in the realm of the temporal, it seems prudent to have baptism and church membership closely linked together, yet to allow the baptism of a new believer – as a sign of their entrance into the New Covenant community – to precede membership in the local church.
What does this connection between baptism and membership suggest for the time between baptism and joining a church? As noted above, there is a close logical and temporal connection between the ordinances, especially baptism, and church membership. We ought to expect newly baptized believers to join the local church as soon as possible. Put another way, there should not be a large lapse of time between baptism and covenant membership in the local church.
What does this suggest for young people? This has a few implications for young people who desire to be baptized.
First, there are implications regarding the receiving of youth into membership as full-fledged members, with all the expectations and responsibilities of other members. If a young person is truly regenerate, thus indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit, then it is through that empowering of the Spirit that they will be expected to grow in sanctification. They ought to have access to every means of grace God has ordained for his people, including fellowship and membership in the church. To deny the duties, responsibilities, and privileges of full-fledged membership would be to deny the opportunities for discipleship and growth the Lord has ordained. Thus, truly regenerate young people ought to be baptized and fully welcomed into the New Covenant community as members.
However, wisdom would suggest that, though they are full members of the church, they be treated in ways appropriate to their age and station in life. For example, if they have no source of income outside their parents’ provision, an expectation of giving would seem unreasonable. Similarly, if they are unable to execute the duties of a volunteer position in a safe and effective way, serving in the church in some capacities may not be possible. Also, in cases of unrepentant sin and the exercise of church discipline of a young person still living in their parents home, the Elders will need to carefully navigate the boundaries between their pastoral authority over church members and the authority of parents in discipling and disciplining the children in their home.
Second, there are implications regarding the age and maturity required for baptism. Wisdom would suggest that, as part of the discernment process before a baptism, a congregation should not only consider if there is a sincere profession of fatih in conjunction with clear evidence of regeneration, but also if the baptismal candidate will be able to fully enter the community as a member and be able to discharge the all the duties membership requires. This may serve as a guide as to the appropriate age for baptism. For example, it seems unreasonable to expect a toddler to be able to regularly pray for other believers, study the scriptures on their own, take part in church discipline, give, serve, fulfill the one-another commands, and evangelize the lost. Since they would be unable to faithfully live as a regenerate member of the church, even if they claim to have put their faith in Jesus, it may be appropriate to delay baptism. However, there is a much greater likelihood for a teenage baptismal candidate to be able to faithfully fulfill the duties of a member, in a way appropriate for their age, and it therefore may be more appropriate to baptize the teen, given a sincere profession of the faith.
Do believers who have been previously baptized at another church need to be rebaptized to become members? No, true believers who have been legitimately baptized do not need to be rebaptized. However, if the baptism was not legitimate – if it was administered in an apostate church, or administered before there was true regeneration – then the believer should be baptized as a sign of their union with Christ and as a public profession of Jesus as Lord.
Can visiting believers who are not formally members of a particular local church still worship with and participate in the Lord’s Supper? Yes, visiting believers can still participate in the Lord’s Supper even if they are not members of a particular local church. They are still members of Christ’s body, the invisible church, and ought to be members of their local body. Thus, they should not be denied the Lord’s Supper. However, this should be a temporary arrangement. Should the visiting believer return repeatedly to worship with a local congregation, they should consider transferring their membership to the new church and seek to unite themselves with this new body.
